Yitzhak Rabin Prime Minister of Israel Date of Birth: 01.03.1922 Country: Israel

Biography of Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Rabin was born on March 1, 1922, in Jerusalem, Palestine. His father, a Russian immigrant, moved to the United States before settling in Palestine during World War II to fight with the Jewish contingent against the Turks. Rabin's mother became an officer in the Haganah, a Jewish partisan formation in Palestine.

Rabin studied agriculture in the Galilean city of Kfar Tavor and joined the Haganah when World War II broke out. As the Deputy Commander, he fought against the Vichy French in Syria and Lebanon. After the war, he participated in Haganah operations against the British. In 1946, he was arrested.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Rabin commanded a brigade defending Jerusalem. He rose to the rank of colonel and represented Israel at the Rhodes conference, where a ceasefire was signed.

In 1954, Rabin became a brigadier general and commander of the Israeli Defense Forces. He later served as Chief of the General Staff and was promoted to the rank of major general. Rabin led the army during the Six-Day War in 1967 and retired from the armed forces in January 1968.

From 1968 to 1973, Rabin served as Israel's ambassador to the United States. In March 1973, he became a member of the Knesset. When Prime Minister Golda Meir's government fell in April 1974, the Labor Party entrusted Rabin with forming a new cabinet, which was approved by the Knesset on June 3, 1974.

As Prime Minister, Rabin initiated negotiations that significantly advanced the cause of peace between Israel and Egypt in September 1975. However, after facing allegations of illegal currency transactions against him and his wife, Rabin resigned in April 1977.

Rabin returned to politics in 1984 and became the Minister of Defense in the National Unity government, which included representatives from the two major Israeli parties - the Labor Party and Likud - as well as several smaller political groups.

During the Palestinian intifada (uprising) that began in 1987, Rabin ordered the Israeli army to respond with "power, force, and blows," which enhanced his reputation as a tough politician. In February 1992, he replaced Shimon Peres as the head of the Labor Party. Four months later, the Labor Party achieved significant success in the national elections. Rabin's platform focused on ensuring national security but was more receptive than Likud's platform towards Palestinian self-rule in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. On July 13, 1992, Rabin was confirmed as the Prime Minister after forming a three-party center-left coalition government.

In September 1993, he signed an agreement with Yasser Arafat, the leader of the PLO, for the establishment of limited Palestinian self-rule. This was followed by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from most of the Gaza Strip and the city of Jericho in the West Bank, as well as the creation of a Palestinian administration. As a result, Rabin, Arafat, and Peres, who had all played significant roles in reaching the agreement, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.

The peace process further advanced in October 1994 when Rabin and Jordan's Prime Minister Abdul Salam al-Majali signed a peace treaty, ending the state of war between the two countries and establishing diplomatic relations.

Tragically, Rabin was assassinated in November 1995 in Tel Aviv by a 25-year-old Israeli law student after speaking at a rally organized by supporters of peace with the Palestinians.